Storage and display of goods

ABSTRACT

A storage and display apparatus which comprises a plurality of carrier members arranged side by side in series. The carrier members include display means for mounting goods for display. Each carrier member is displaceable from a storage zone into a display zone adjacent the storage zone to display goods arranged thereon. Each carrier member is so displaceable by being mounted on a telescopic support member in the storage zone. Each support member comprises a lowermost portion and an uppermost portion which carries a carrier member and is slidable along the lowermost portion.

United States Patent 1191 de Bruyn Oct. 14, 1975 [54] STORAGE ANDDISPLAY OF GOODS FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 1 lnvemorl HenriAmPld de Bruyn, Pretoria, 56,103 5/1911 Switzerland 312/342 South Afrlca48,456 3 1934 Denmark 16/88 1,196,333 7 1965 Germany... 211 177 [73]Asslgnee' g fgg 'lsgg i s 312,767 10 1968 Sweden 211/177 [22] Filed:Apr. 26, 197 4 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Sk-Rk h' T '1 .,52215 2 pp No: 464,608ta a C icago ramral Corp 9 3 pages.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Roy D. FrazierApr. 30, 1973 South Africa 73/2925 A i n Ex minerThomas J. HolkoAttorney, Agent, or FirmLadas, Parry, Von Gehr, [52] US. Cl. 211/162;16/88; 211/182 Goldsmith & Deschamps [51] Int. Cl. A47F 5/00 [58] FieldOf Search 211/94, 94.5 162, 177, 211/182; 16/87.8, 88, 93 R, 94 R, 95 R,90;

312/342 345 A storage and display apparatus which comprises a pluralityof carrier members arranged side by side in [56] References Citedseries. The carrier members include display means for UNITED STATESPATENTS mounting goods for'display. Each carrier member is displaceablefrom a storage zone into a display zone 637,361 11/1899 Suters 312/345adjacent the Storage. zone to display goods arranged 2 thereon. Eachcarrier member is so displaceable by 1,005,055 10/19 1 Mmerp 16/88 beingmounted on a telescopic support member in the 1 670 880 5/1928 Davis i6/94 R Storage Zone- Each Support member Comprises a 1,802,102 4/1931Ziegler et al.. 312 342 x ermost Portion and an uppermost Portion which1,841,620 1/1932 M C 312/342 carries a carrier member and is slidablealong the low- 1,887,819 11/1932 Nelson 16/88 ermost portion. 2,076,8484/1937 Keiver 211/162 X 2,851,167 9 1958 Rosenberg 211 162 x 13 Clalms,6 Drawmg Flgures I If 12 21 f zz U.S. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet 3 of33,912,086

F/Cd

STORAGE AND DISPLAY OF GOODS This invention relates to a storage ordisplay apparatus; particularly an apparatus suitable for the retailingof goods in shops.

According to the invention a storage ordisplay apparatus comprises:

a storage zone;

a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another at a low level in the storagezone, each support member comprising a lowermost portion, anintermediate portion substantially the same length as the lowermostportion supported by a plurality of longitudinally spaced-roller memberson the lowermost portion and slidable via the roller memberslongitudinally along the lowermost portion, and an uppermost portionsubstantially the same length as the lowermost portion supported byanother plurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on theintermediate portion and slidable via the other plurality of rollermembers longitudinally along the intermediate portion;

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by and'extending upwardlyfrom'one of the support members, the carrier members including displaymeans for mounting goods for display; and

fixedly located guide means engaging each carrier member via aconnection comprising a track substantially parallel to the supportmembers;

each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the displayzone, the guide meansserving to hold the carrier'member up right duringsaid displacement.

The lowermost portion of each support member may comprise a pedestal andan upwardly projecting 'rail member, the rail member and pedestalextending along the length of the lowermost portion'and the rail memberhaving an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facing track along itslength,

the intermediate portionhaving a pair of rail members extending alongitslength, interconnected in vertically spaced relationship, eachrailmember having an upwardly facingtrack and a downwardly facing trackalong its length, and i the uppermost portion having an upper platformand a downwardly projecting rail member, the rail member and platformextending along the length of the uppermost portion and the rail memberhaving an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facing track along itslength,

the upwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of'th'e intermediate portion, thedownwardly facing track of the lowermost portion'facing' the upwardlyfacing track of the lower termediateportion', and

the upwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the uppermost portion'facingthe railmember of the inupwardly facing track of the upper rail member of theintermediate portion,

each opposed pair of tracks having a longitudinally spaced series of theroller members therebetween.

The support members may have their portions in the form of aluminiumextrusions, the roller members being cylindrical synthetic plasticsrollers, each track being channel shaped and having a floor which is, V-shaped in end elevation, having two surfaces sloping from the side wallsof the channel towards each other to meet each other at the centralcorner of the V, the ends of each roller at its corners between its endfaces and curved wall engaging respectively the-surfaces of the Vs ofthe tracks enclosing said roller, the pedestal comprising a downwardlyfacing channel and the ,plat form comprising an upwardly facing channel.

The guide means may comprise a high level beam extending, substantiallynormal to the support members, over the carrier members, the beam havinga plurality of longitudinally spaced downward projections, the tracks ofthe connections between the guide means and the carrier memberscomprising upwardly facing channel members along the tops of thecarriermembers, each projection being received in one of the channelmembers. The beam may be located at the boundary between the displayzone and the storage zone, the beam being a box section aluminiumextrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towards thestor-" age zone, each projection comprising" an inner'portion located inand movable along the interior of the beam and an outer portion engagingthe corresponding channel member and releasably connected to the'innerportion via the slot, the inner and outer portions gripping" portions,the low level beams each comprisinga 'box section aluminium extrusionhaviriga slot along one of its sides and facing towards the storagezone, each of said lowermost portions having itsends connected to' thelow level beams by meansof connector pieces, each connector piececomprising aninner portion located in and movable along the interior ofthe adjacent low level beam and an outer portion connected to 'saidlowermost portion of the support member and releasably connected via theslot to'the inner'portion, the inner and outer portions gripping part ofthe adjacent beam;

therebetween.

The apparatus may be in the form of a rectangular module, the carriermembers being rectangular and lat erally flattened and the apparatushaving at opposite ends of the series of carrier members a pair ofrectangularframesh'av'ing the same outline? as the carrier members, eachframe interconnecting the adjacent ends of the high level beam and thelow'level beams, the module including a pair of elevated strutsinterconnecting the tops of the frames and extending'respectively alongthe diagonals in plan view of'the module, and a pair of inclined strutsinterconnecting the frames at the boundary 'of the storage zone remotefrom the display zone, the inclined structs extending along thediagonals of the module when viewed from the display zone.

Further according to the invention a storage or display apparatuscomprises:

a storage zone;

a plurality of telescopically extensible support members arranged sideby side in series spaced from one another in the storage zone, eachsupport member comprising a lowermost portion and an uppermost portionsupported on and slidable along the lowermost portion;

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by and extending upwardlyfrom one of the support members, the carrier members including displaymeans for mounting goods for display; and

fixedly located guide means engaging each carrier member;

each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe display member in the display zone, the guide means serving to holdthe display member upright during said displacement.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a three dimensional view of a storage ordisplay apparatus in the form of a module in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows an end elevation of one of the support members of theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded detail of a connection between one of thesupport members and a low level beam forming part of the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of an alternative construction for part of theconnection of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a detail of the guide means of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic side elevation of a carrier member of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 generally designates a storage ordisplay apparatus in accordance with the invention, in the form of amodule. The periphery of the module 10 is defined by a pair of boxsection metal frames 12. The frames 12 are rectangular and eachcomprises a pair of uprights 12.1 having theirends connected byhorizontal cross members 12.2. Each cross member 12.2 comprises a pairof end portions 12.21 fast with the uprights 12.1, and a central portion12.22 having its ends received in the end portions 12.21 and connectedthereto by grub screws as at 12.3.

A storage zone 14 is defined between the frames 12. A pair of adjacentuprights 12.1 of the frames 12 are interconnected at their upper ends byan elevated beam 16, and by a low level beam 18. The other pair ofuprights 12.1 are interconnected by a low level beam 20. The beams 16,18 are at the front of the apparatus 10, the beam 20 being at its rear.The rear uprights 12.1 are interconnected by a pair of tubular metalstruts 22 extending along the diagonals, in front elevation, of theapparatus; and the cross members 12.2 are similarly interconnected by apair of tubular metal struts 24, extending along the diagonals, in planview, of the apparatus. Each of the beams 16, 18 and 20, which areidentical, is in the form of a box section aluminium extrusion having aslot 26 along the length of its side facing towards the storage zone 14.The connections between the beams and frames 12 will be describedhereunder.

A plurality of carrier members 28, which are rectan gular and may belaterally flattened panels, racks, frames or the like, are located inthe storage zone 14. They are arranged in a series extending laterallyand are spaced in face to face parallel upright relationship. Eachmember 28 has an upwardly facing channel member 30 extending along itstop and engaging guide means comprising a downward projection (not shownin FIG. 1) from the beam 16. The carrier members 28 are mounted onsupport members 34 which are telescopically extensible away from therear of the apparatus 10 into a display zone 36 in front of theapparatus. The beams 16, 18 are at the boundary between the zones 14, 36and the beam 20 thus defines the opposite boundary of the zone 14. Theguide means and support members will be described in more detailhereunder.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 34 generally designates one of the supportmembers. Each support member 34 comprises a lowermost portion 34.1 whichrests on the floor of the storage zone 14 and is connected at its endsto the beams 18, 20; an intermediate portion 34.2 supported by thelowermost portion 34.1 via a plurality of longitudinally spacedcylindrical rollers 38; and an uppermost portion 34.3 supported by theportion 34.2 via another plurality of longitudinally spaced cylindricalrollers 40. The portions 34.1, 34.2 and 34.3 are aluminium extrusions.

The lowermost portion 34.1 comprises along its length a pedestal in theform of a downwardly facing channel 34.11 and an upwardly projectingrail member 34.12. The rail member 34.12 comprises an upwardly facingtrack 34.13 and a downwardly facing track 34.14. The tracks 34.13, 34.14are channel shaped and have floors 34.15 which are V-shaped in endelevation, each having two surfaces 34.16 sloping from the bases of theside walls 34.17 of the channels to the central corner 34.18 of the V.The other tracks of the support member 34, described hereunder, are ofsimilar profile in end elevation.

The intermediate portion 34.2 is substantially S- or Z-shaped in endelevation and comprises a lower rail member 34.21 and an upper railmember 34.22. The lower rail member 34.21 has along its length anupwardly facing track 34.23 facing the track 34.14, and a downwardlyfacing track 34.24 facing the track 34.13. The rollers 38, which are ofnylon comprise two longitudinally spaced series, namely 38.1 between thetracks 34.14, 34.23 and 38.2 between the tracks 34.13, 34.24. Thecorners of said rollers between their end faces and curved wallsrespectively engage the surfaces 34.16 of each track.

The upper rail member 34.22 likewise has an upwardly facing track 34.25and a downwardly facing track 34.26. The uppermost portion 34.3 isidentical to the lowermost portion 34.1, comprising a platform 34.31 inthe form of an upwardly facing channel and a rail member 34.32projecting downwardly from said platform. The rail member 34.32 hasalong its length an upwardly facing track 34.33 facing the track 34.26;and a downwardly facing track 34.34 facing the track 34.25. The shapeand arrangement of the rollers 40 are the same as those of the rollers38. The rollers 40 comprise a series 40.1 between the trackd 34.25,34.34 and a series 40.2 between the tracks 34.26, 34.33.

The location of the rollers 38, 40 in their tracks is such as to permitthe portion 38.3 to slide outwardly into the display zone 36, to besuspended there cantilever fashion with its rear end adjacent the frontend of the portion 38.1, the portion 38.2 taking up an intermediateposition. Stop means, e.g. a plate (not shown) projecting upwardly fromthe rear end of the portion 34.1 is provided to prevent the portions34.2, 34.3 from sliding rearwardly. Likewise, the rear ends of thechannel members 30 are closed to engage the downward projections fromthe beam 16, thereby to define the fully extended positions of thesupport members 34.

In FIG. 3, unless otherwise specified, like reference numerals refer tolike parts. A detail is shown of the beam and the rear lower portion ofthe lowermost portion 34.1 of one of the support members 34. The portion34.1 is connected to thebeam 20 by a connector piece comprising an innerportion in the form of a rectangular nut 42 and an outer portion in theform of an angle piece 44. The nut is located with a frictional fit inthe interior of the beam 20, and can be moved along said interior byfinger pressure. The angle piece 44 is bolted via one of its flanges44.1, to one of the walls of the channel of the pedestal 34.11 of thelowermost portion 34.1, by a bolt 46; and is bolted via its other flange44.2 to the nut 42 by a bolt 48. The bolt 48 extends through the slot 26and the nut 42 and flange 44.2 grip the material of the beam 20 alongthe edges of the slot 26 firmly between them.

In FIG. 4, a channel piece 50 is shown having side walls 50.1 and afloor 50.2 provided with a bolt hole 50.3. Instead of the arrangement ofFIG. 3, the channel piece 50 can be substituted for the angle piece44.The channel piece 50 is bolted to the nut 42 with its channel extendingupwardly and facing towards the storage zone 14. The side walls of thepedestal 34.11 (FIGS. 2 and 3) fit downwardly over the side walls 50.1of the channel piece 50.

It will be appreciated that the front end of the pedestal 34.11 may beconnected in a similar fashion to the beam 18. In practice it has beenfound satisfactory to use the arrangement of FIG. 3 at the rear of eachpedestal, and the arrangement of FIG. 4 at the front of each pedestal.The arrangement of FIG. 3 is also used to connect the frame members 12to the beams 18, 20. In this case the flange 44.1 of an angle piece 44will be bolted to each lower corner of the frame, where the uprights12.1 meet the cross members 12.2.

In FIG. 5, once again, unless otherwise specified, like referencenumerals refer to like parts. FIG. 5 is a detail of the guide means ofone of the carrier members 28 and part of the top of one of the members28 is shown with part of its channel member 30. The beam 16 (not shownin FIG. 5) is the same as the beam 20 and is provided with a nut 42 asshown in FIG. 3. Each downward projection from the beam 16 comprises aninner portion formed by the nut 42, and an outer portion comprising anangle piece 52. The angle piece 52 has one flange 52.1 via which it isbolted to the nut 42 with its other flange 52.2 lowermost andhorizontal. The other flange 52.2 has a pin 54 rivetted thereto andextending downwardly to terminate in a nylon bush 56 located in thechannel member 30.

In FIG. 6 a carrier member 28 is shown by way of example. The carriermember is in the form of a frame provided with a handle 28.1 at itsfront, and various display means 58. In FIG. 6, 58.1 indicates apegboard panel; 58.2 indicates a shelf; 58.3 indicates two zig-zaginterconnected horizontal wires suitable for supporting shoes; and 58.4indicates a rail or straight horizontal rod. It will be appreciated thatany desired display means, other than the examples shown, may beprovided on the member 28, depending on the goods to be displayed.

In use goods for display will be arranged on the members 28, on one orboth sides thereof, in display arrangement. A user, e.g. a customer in ashop, will displace a desired display member 28 into the display zone36to inspect the goods thereon, after which he will return the member 28to the storage zone 14.

An advantage of the invention is the extremely light operation of themembers 20, due to the virtually frictionless sliding of the members 34.The point or line contact made by the rollers 38, 40 on the trackstouching them contributes to the light operation, as does the use ofnylon rollers and the use of the nylon bushes 56 to guide the channelmembers 30. The number and spacing of the members 28 can easily bevaried by loosening the bolts 48 and moving the nuts 42 along the beams18, 20, 16. Furthermore, an important advantage of the modular apparatusshown in FIG. 1 is its dismountability as it can be disassembled andmade into a compact kit for transport and storage. The volume of the kitis determined substantially by the volume of the members 28 when packedface to face, as the other constituent parts can be packed alongside themembers 28 to occupy little additional volume. When the members 28 aredismountable frames or are omitted from the kit, the kit can be madeinto a long narrow parcel having its dimensions determined in substanceby the uprights 12.1 and the portions 12.21 of the cross members 12.2fast therewith. Furthermore, the modular construction allows greatflexibility in use, as installations of many shapes having many storageor display capacities, can be built up by suitable combinations andarrangements of the modules.

I claim:

1. A storage or display apparatus comprising:

a storage zone;

a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another at a low level in the storagezone, each support member comprising:

a lowermost portion comprising a pedestal and an upwardly projectingrail member, the rail member and pedestal extending along the length ofthe lowermost portion and the rail member having an upwardly facingtrack and a downwardly facing track along its length; an intermediateportion substantially the same length as the lowermost portion andcomprising an upper rail member and a lower rail member interconnectedin vertically spaced relationship, the upper rail member and the lowerrail member of the intermediate portion each extending along the lengthof the intermediate portion and each having an upwardly facing track anda downwardly facing track along its length, the intermediate portionbeing supported by a plurality of longitudinally spaced roller memberson the lowermost portion and slidable via the roller memberslongitudinally along the lowermost portion; and

an uppermost portion substantially the same length as the lowermostportion and comprising an upper platform and a downwardly projectingrail member, the rail member and platform extending along the length ofthe uppermost portion and the rail member of the uppermost portionhaving an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facing track along itslength, the uppermost portion being supported by another plurality oflongitudinally spaced roller members on the intermediate portion andslidable via the other plurality of roller members longitudinally alongthe intermediate portion,

the upwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion, and

the upwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion, and

each opposed pair of tracks having a longitudinally spaced series of theroller members therebetween;

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by and extending upwardlyfrom one of the support members, the carrier members including displaymeans for mounting goods for display; and

fixedly located guide means engaging each carrier member via aconnection comprising a track substantially parallel to the supportmembers;

each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the displayzone, the guide means serving to hold the carrier member upright duringsaid displacement.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the support members havetheir portions in the form of aluminium extrusions and the rollermembers are cylindrical synthetic plastics rollers, each track beingchannel shaped and having a floor which is V-shaped in end elevation,having two surfaces sloping from the side walls of the channel towardseach other to meet each other at the central corner of the V, the endsof each roller at its corners between its end faces and curved wallengaging respectively the surfaces of the Vs of the tracks enclosingsaid roller, the pedestal comprising a downwardly facing channel and theplatform comprising an upwardly facing channel.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the guide meanscomprises a high level beam extending, substantially normal to thesupport members, over the carrier members, the beam having a pluralityof longitudinally spaced downward projections, the tracks of theconnections between the guide means and the carrier members comprisingupwardly facing channel members along the tops of the carrier members,each projection being received in one of the channel members.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the beam is located atthe boundary between the display zone and the storage zone and is a boxsection aluminium extrusion having a slot along one of its sides andfacing towards the storage zone, each projection comprising an innerportion located in and movable along the interior of the beam and anouter portion engaging the corresponding channel member and releasablyconnected to the inner portion via the slot, the inner and outerportions gripping part of the beam therebetween.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which a low level beam extendsalong the boundary between the storage zone and the display zoneadjacent and longitudinally outwardly of the adjacent ends of thelowermost portions of the support members, and a low level beam extendsalong and defines the opposite boundary of the storage zone, adjacentand longitudinally outwardly of the opposite ends of said lowermostportions, the low level beams each comprising a box section aluminiumextrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towards thestorage zone, each of said lowermost portions having its ends connectedto the low level beams by means of connector pieces, each connectorpiece comprising an inner portion located in and movable along theinterior of the adjacent low level beam and an outer portion connectedto said lowermost portion of the support member and releasably connectedvia the slot to the inner portion, the inner and outer portions grippingpart of the adjacent beam therebetween.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, which is in the form of arectangular module, the carrier members being rectangular and laterallyflattened and the apparatus having at opposite ends of the series ofcarrier members a pair of rectangular frames having the same outline asthe carrier members, each frame interconnecting the adjacent ends of thehigh level beam and the low level beams, the module including a pair ofelevated struts interconnecting the tops of the frames and extendingrespectively along the diagonals in plan view of the module, and a pairof inclined struts interconnecting the frames at the boundary of thestorage zone remote from the display zone, the inclined struts extendingalong the diagonals of the module when viewed from the display zone.

7. A storage and display apparatus comprising a storage zone,

a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another at a low level in the storagezone, each support member comprising a lowermost portion, anintermediate portion substantially the same length as the lowermostportion supported by a plurality of longitudinally spaced roller memberson the lowermost portion and slidable via the roller memberslongitudinally along the lowermost portion, and an uppermost portionsubstantially the same length as the lowermost portion supported byanother plurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on theintermediate portion and slidable via the other plurality of rollermembers longitudinally along the intermediate portion,

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by and extending upwardlyfrom one of the support members, the carrier members including displaymeans for mounting goods for display, and fixedly located guide meansengaging each carrier member via a connection comprising a tracksubstantially parallel to the support members, each carrier member beinglongitudinally displaceable by hand between a storage position in thestorage zone in which its support member is retracted and a displayposition in a display zone adjacent the storage zone in which thesupport member is telescopically extended and supports the carriermember cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the display zone, theguide means serving to hold the carrier member upright during saiddisplacement, the guide means comprising a high level beam extending,substantially normal to the support members, over the carrier members,the beam having a plurality of longitudinally spaced downwardprojections, the tracks of the connections between the guide means andthe carrier members comprising upwardly facing channel members along thetops of the carrier members, each projection being received in one ofthe channel members, the beam being located at the boundary between thedisplay zone and the storage zone and being a boxsection aluminiumextrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towards thestorage zone, each projection comprising an inner portion 10- I cated inand movable along the interior of the beam and an outer portion engagingthe corresponding channel member and releasably connected to the innerportion via the slot, the inner and outer portions gripping part of thebeam therebetween, a low level beam extending along the boundary betweenthe storage zone and the display zone adjacent and longitudinallyoutwardly of the adjacent ends of the lowermost portions of the supportmembers, and a low level beam extending along and defining oppositeboundary of the storage zone, adjacent and longitudinally outwardly ofthe opposite ends of said lowermost portions, the

low level beams each comprising a box section alu-.

minium extrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towardsthe storage zone, each of said lowermost portions having its endsconnected to the low level beams by means of connector pieces, eachconnector piece comprising an inner portion located in and movable alongthe interior of the adjacent low level beam and an outer portionconnected to said lowermost portion of the support member and releasablyconnected via the slot to the inner portion, the inner and outerportions gripping part of the adjacent beam therebetween;

the apparatus being in the form of a rectangular module, the carriermembers being rectangular and laterally flattened and the apparatushaving at opposite ends of the series of carrier members a pair ofrectangular frames having the same outline as the carrier members, eachframe interconnecting the adjacent ends of the high level beam and thelow level beams, the module including a pair of elevated strutsinterconnecting the tops of the frames and extending respectively alongthe diagonals in plan view of the module, and a pair of inclined strutsinterconnecting the frames at the boundary of the storage zone remotefrom the display zone, the inclined struts extending along the diagonalsof the module when viewed from the display zone.

8. A storage and display apparatus comprising:

a storage zone;

a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another in the storage zone, eachsupport member comprising:

a lowermost portion comprising a pedestal and an upwardly projectingrail member, the rail member and pedestal extending along the length ofthe lowermost portion and the rail member having an upwardly facingtrack and a downwardly facing track along its length;

an intermediate portion substantially the same length as the lowermostportion and comprising an upper rail member and a lower rail memberinterconnected in vertically spaced relationship, the upper rail memberand the lower rail member of the intermediate portion each extendingalong the length of the intermediate portion and each having an upwardlyfacing track and a downwardly facing track along its length, theintermediate portion being supported by a plurality of longitudinallyspaced roller members on the lowermost portion and slidable via theroller members longitudinally along the lowermost portion; and

an uppermost portion substantially the same length as the lowermostportion and comprising an upper platform and a downwardly projectingrail member, the rail member and platform extending along y the lengthof the uppermost portion and the rail,

member of the uppermost portion having an upwardly facing track and adownwardly facing track along its length, the uppermost portion beingsupported via another plurality of longitudinally spaced roller memberson the intermediate portion and slidable via the other plurality ofroller members longitudinally along the intermediate portion; theupwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion;

the upwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion; and

each opposed pair of tracks having a longitudinally spaced series of theroller members therebetween;

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by one of the supportmembers, and being adapted for mounting goods for display;

each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the displayzone.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, in which each carrier memberextends upwardly from the support member whereby it is supported, thesupport members being arranged at a low level in the storage zone.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, which includes fixedly locatedguide means engaging each carrier member, the guide means serving tohold the carrier member upright during said displacement.

11. A storage or display apparatus comprising:

a storage zone;

a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another in the storage zone, eachsupport member comprising a lowermost portion, an intermediate portionsubstantially the same length as the lowermost portion supported by aplurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on the lowermostportion and slidable via the roller members longitudinally along thelowermost portion, and an uppermost portion substantially the samelength as the lowermost portion supported by another plurality oflongitudinally spaced roller members on the intermediate portion andslidable via the other plurality of roller members longitudinally alongthe intermediate portion;

a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member, eachcarrier member being fast with and supported by one of the supportmembers, the carrier members being adapted for mounting goods fordisplay;

each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the displayzone,

the apparatus comprising a high level beam extending, substantiallynormal to the support members, over the carrier members,

a low level beam extending along the boundary between the storage zoneand the display zone and a low level beam extending along and definingthe opposite boundary of the storage zone,

the apparatus being in the form of a rectangular module, the carriermembers being rectangular and laterally flattened and the apparatushaving at opposite ends of the series carrier members a pair ofrectangular frames having the same outline as the carrier members, eachframe interconnecting the adjacent ends of the high level beam and thelow level beams, the module including a pair of elevated strutsinterconnecting the tops of the frames and extending respectively alongthe diagonals in plan view of the module, and a pair of inclined strutsinterconnecting the frames at the boundary of the storage zone remotefrom the display zone, the inclined struts extending along the diagonalsof the module when viewed from the display zone.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, in which the support membersare arranged at a low level in the storage zone and each carrier memberextends upwardly from the support member whereby it is supported, theapparatus including fixedly located guide means engaging each carriermember via a connecting comprising a track substantially parallel to thesupport members, the guide means serving to hold the carrier membersupright during displacement thereof, the guide means comprising aplurality of longitudinally spaced downward projections from the highlevel beam, the tracks of the connection between the guide means and thecarrier members comprising upwardly facing channel members along thetops of the carrier members, each projection being received in one ofthe channel members.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which each projection ismovable along the length of the high level beam and lockable in positionon the high level beam, each of the lowermost portions of the supportmembers having its ends connected to the low level beams by means ofconnector pieces, each connector piece being movable along and lockablein position on the adjacent low level beam.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONPATENTNO.: 3,912,086

DATED October 14, 1975 INVENTOR(S) DE BRUYN, Henri Arnold It iscertified that error ppears in the above-identified ptent and that saidLetters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In column 12, line 7, of should be inserted after "series".

Signed and Scaled this twenty-third D ay Of December I 9 75 [SEAL] Attest:

RUTH C. MASON Commissioner nj'Patents and Trademarks

1. A storage or display apparatus comprising: a storage zone; aplurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another at a low level in the storagezone, each support member comprising: a lowermost portion comprising apedestal and an upwardly projecting rail member, the rail member andpedestal extending along the length of the lowermost portion and therail member having an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facingtrack along its length; an intermediate portion substantially the samelength as the lowermost portion and comprising an upper rail member anda lower rail member interconnected in vertically spaced relationship,the upper rail member and the lower rail member of the intermediateportion each extending along the length of the intermediate portion andeach having an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facing track alongits length, the intermediate portion being supported by a plurality oflongitudinally spaced roller members on the lowermost portion andslidable via the roller members longitudinally along the lowermostportion; and an uppermost portion substantially the same length as thelowermost portion and comprising an upper platform and a downwardlyprojecting rail member, the rail member and platform extending along thelength of the uppermost portion and the rail member of the uppermostportion having an upwardly facing track and a downwardly facing trackalong its length, the uppermost portion being supported by anotherplurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on the intermediateportion and slidable via the other plurality of roller memberslongitudinally along the intermediate portion, the upwardly facing trackof the lowermost portion facing the downwardly facing track of the lowerrail member of the intermediate portion, and the downwardly facing trackof the lowermost portion facing the upwardly facing track of the lowerrail member of the intermediate portion, and the upwardly facing trackof the uppermost portion facing the downwardly facing track of the upperrail member of the intermediate portion, and the downwardly facing trackof the uppermost portion facing the upwardly facing track of the upperrail member of the intermediate portion, and each opposed pair of trackshaving a longitudinally spaced series of the roller memberstherebetween; a plurality of carrier members, one for each supportmember, each carrier member being fast with and supported by andextending upwardly from one of the support members, the carrier membersincluding display means for mounting goods for display; and fixedlylocated guide means engaging each carrier member via a connectioncomprising a track substantially parallel to the support members; eachcarrier member being longitudinally displaceable by hand between astorage position in the storage zone in which its support member isretracted and a display position in a display zone adjacent the storagezone in which its support member is telescopically extended and supportsthe carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the displayzone, the guide means serving to hold the carrier member upright duringsaid displacement.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which thesupport members have their portions in the form of aluminium extrusionsand tHe roller members are cylindrical synthetic plastics rollers, eachtrack being channel shaped and having a floor which is V-shaped in endelevation, having two surfaces sloping from the side walls of thechannel towards each other to meet each other at the central corner ofthe V, the ends of each roller at its corners between its end faces andcurved wall engaging respectively the surfaces of the V''s of the tracksenclosing said roller, the pedestal comprising a downwardly facingchannel and the platform comprising an upwardly facing channel.
 3. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the guide means comprises ahigh level beam extending, substantially normal to the support members,over the carrier members, the beam having a plurality of longitudinallyspaced downward projections, the tracks of the connections between theguide means and the carrier members comprising upwardly facing channelmembers along the tops of the carrier members, each projection beingreceived in one of the channel members.
 4. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 3, in which the beam is located at the boundary between thedisplay zone and the storage zone and is a box section aluminiumextrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towards thestorage zone, each projection comprising an inner portion located in andmovable along the interior of the beam and an outer portion engaging thecorresponding channel member and releasably connected to the innerportion via the slot, the inner and outer portions gripping part of thebeam therebetween.
 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, in which a lowlevel beam extends along the boundary between the storage zone and thedisplay zone adjacent and longitudinally outwardly of the adjacent endsof the lowermost portions of the support members, and a low level beamextends along and defines the opposite boundary of the storage zone,adjacent and longitudinally outwardly of the opposite ends of saidlowermost portions, the low level beams each comprising a box sectionaluminium extrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facingtowards the storage zone, each of said lowermost portions having itsends connected to the low level beams by means of connector pieces, eachconnector piece comprising an inner portion located in and movable alongthe interior of the adjacent low level beam and an outer portionconnected to said lowermost portion of the support member and releasablyconnected via the slot to the inner portion, the inner and outerportions gripping part of the adjacent beam therebetween.
 6. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 5, which is in the form of a rectangularmodule, the carrier members being rectangular and laterally flattenedand the apparatus having at opposite ends of the series of carriermembers a pair of rectangular frames having the same outline as thecarrier members, each frame interconnecting the adjacent ends of thehigh level beam and the low level beams, the module including a pair ofelevated struts interconnecting the tops of the frames and extendingrespectively along the diagonals in plan view of the module, and a pairof inclined struts interconnecting the frames at the boundary of thestorage zone remote from the display zone, the inclined struts extendingalong the diagonals of the module when viewed from the display zone. 7.A storage and display apparatus comprising a storage zone, a pluralityof elongated, substantially horizontal telescopically extensible supportmembers arranged side by side in series spaced substantially parallelfrom one another at a low level in the storage zone, each support membercomprising a lowermost portion, an intermediate portion substantiallythe same length as the lowermost portion supported by a plurality oflongitudinally spaced roller members on the lowermost portion andslidable via the roller members longitudinally along the lowermostportion, and an uppermost portion substantially the same length as thelowermost portion supported by anoTher plurality of longitudinallyspaced roller members on the intermediate portion and slidable via theother plurality of roller members longitudinally along the intermediateportion, a plurality of carrier members, one for each support member,each carrier member being fast with and supported by and extendingupwardly from one of the support members, the carrier members includingdisplay means for mounting goods for display, and fixedly located guidemeans engaging each carrier member via a connection comprising a tracksubstantially parallel to the support members, each carrier member beinglongitudinally displaceable by hand between a storage position in thestorage zone in which its support member is retracted and a displayposition in a display zone adjacent the storage zone in which thesupport member is telescopically extended and supports the carriermember cantilever fashion clear of the floor of the display zone, theguide means serving to hold the carrier member upright during saiddisplacement, the guide means comprising a high level beam extending,substantially normal to the support members, over the carrier members,the beam having a plurality of longitudinally spaced downwardprojections, the tracks of the connections between the guide means andthe carrier members comprising upwardly facing channel members along thetops of the carrier members, each projection being received in one ofthe channel members, the beam being located at the boundary between thedisplay zone and the storage zone and being a box-section aluminiumextrusion having a slot along one of its sides and facing towards thestorage zone, each projection comprising an inner portion located in andmovable along the interior of the beam and an outer portion engaging thecorresponding channel member and releasably connected to the innerportion via the slot, the inner and outer portions gripping part of thebeam therebetween, a low level beam extending along the boundary betweenthe storage zone and the display zone adjacent and longitudinallyoutwardly of the adjacent ends of the lowermost portions of the supportmembers, and a low level beam extending along and defining oppositeboundary of the storage zone, adjacent and longitudinally outwardly ofthe opposite ends of said lowermost portions, the low level beams eachcomprising a box section aluminium extrusion having a slot along one ofits sides and facing towards the storage zone, each of said lowermostportions having its ends connected to the low level beams by means ofconnector pieces, each connector piece comprising an inner portionlocated in and movable along the interior of the adjacent low level beamand an outer portion connected to said lowermost portion of the supportmember and releasably connected via the slot to the inner portion, theinner and outer portions gripping part of the adjacent beamtherebetween; the apparatus being in the form of a rectangular module,the carrier members being rectangular and laterally flattened and theapparatus having at opposite ends of the series of carrier members apair of rectangular frames having the same outline as the carriermembers, each frame interconnecting the adjacent ends of the high levelbeam and the low level beams, the module including a pair of elevatedstruts interconnecting the tops of the frames and extending respectivelyalong the diagonals in plan view of the module, and a pair of inclinedstruts interconnecting the frames at the boundary of the storage zoneremote from the display zone, the inclined struts extending along thediagonals of the module when viewed from the display zone.
 8. A storageand display apparatus comprising: a storage zone; a plurality ofelongated, substantially horizontal telescopically extensible supportmembers arranged side by side in series spaced substantially parallelfrom one another in the storage zone, each support member comprising: alowermost portion comprising a pedestal and an upwardly prOjecting railmember, the rail member and pedestal extending along the length of thelowermost portion and the rail member having an upwardly facing trackand a downwardly facing track along its length; an intermediate portionsubstantially the same length as the lowermost portion and comprising anupper rail member and a lower rail member interconnected in verticallyspaced relationship, the upper rail member and the lower rail member ofthe intermediate portion each extending along the length of theintermediate portion and each having an upwardly facing track and adownwardly facing track along its length, the intermediate portion beingsupported by a plurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on thelowermost portion and slidable via the roller members longitudinallyalong the lowermost portion; and an uppermost portion substantially thesame length as the lowermost portion and comprising an upper platformand a downwardly projecting rail member, the rail member and platformextending along the length of the uppermost portion and the rail memberof the uppermost portion having an upwardly facing track and adownwardly facing track along its length, the uppermost portion beingsupported via another plurality of longitudinally spaced roller memberson the intermediate portion and slidable via the other plurality ofroller members longitudinally along the intermediate portion; theupwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the lowermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the lower rail member of the intermediate portion; theupwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the downwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion, andthe downwardly facing track of the uppermost portion facing the upwardlyfacing track of the upper rail member of the intermediate portion; andeach opposed pair of tracks having a longitudinally spaced series of theroller members therebetween; a plurality of carrier members, one foreach support member, each carrier member being fast with and supportedby one of the support members, and being adapted for mounting goods fordisplay; each carrier member being longitudinally displaceable by handbetween a storage position in the storage zone in which its supportmember is retracted and a display position in a display zone adjacentthe storage zone in which its support member is telescopically extendedand supports the carrier member cantilever fashion clear of the floor ofthe display zone.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, in which eachcarrier member extends upwardly from the support member whereby it issupported, the support members being arranged at a low level in thestorage zone.
 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, which includesfixedly located guide means engaging each carrier member, the guidemeans serving to hold the carrier member upright during saiddisplacement.
 11. A storage or display apparatus comprising: a storagezone; a plurality of elongated, substantially horizontal telescopicallyextensible support members arranged side by side in series spacedsubstantially parallel from one another in the storage zone, eachsupport member comprising a lowermost portion, an intermediate portionsubstantially the same length as the lowermost portion supported by aplurality of longitudinally spaced roller members on the lowermostportion and slidable via the roller members longitudinally along thelowermost portion, and an uppermost portion substantially the samelength as the lowermost portion supported by another plurality oflongitudinally spaced roller members on the intermediate portion andslidable via the other plurality of roller members longitudinally alongthe intermediate portion; a plurality of carrier members, one for eachsupport member, each carrier member being fast with and supported by oneoF the support members, the carrier members being adapted for mountinggoods for display; each carrier member being longitudinally displaceableby hand between a storage position in the storage zone in which itssupport member is retracted and a display position in a display zoneadjacent the storage zone in which its support member is telescopicallyextended and supports the carrier member cantilever fashion clear of thefloor of the display zone, the apparatus comprising a high level beamextending, substantially normal to the support members, over the carriermembers, a low level beam extending along the boundary between thestorage zone and the display zone and a low level beam extending alongand defining the opposite boundary of the storage zone, the apparatusbeing in the form of a rectangular module, the carrier members beingrectangular and laterally flattened and the apparatus having at oppositeends of the series carrier members a pair of rectangular frames havingthe same outline as the carrier members, each frame interconnecting theadjacent ends of the high level beam and the low level beams, the moduleincluding a pair of elevated struts interconnecting the tops of theframes and extending respectively along the diagonals in plan view ofthe module, and a pair of inclined struts interconnecting the frames atthe boundary of the storage zone remote from the display zone, theinclined struts extending along the diagonals of the module when viewedfrom the display zone.
 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, in whichthe support members are arranged at a low level in the storage zone andeach carrier member extends upwardly from the support member whereby itis supported, the apparatus including fixedly located guide meansengaging each carrier member via a connecting comprising a tracksubstantially parallel to the support members, the guide means servingto hold the carrier members upright during displacement thereof, theguide means comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced downwardprojections from the high level beam, the tracks of the connectionbetween the guide means and the carrier members comprising upwardlyfacing channel members along the tops of the carrier members, eachprojection being received in one of the channel members.
 13. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 12, in which each projection is movablealong the length of the high level beam and lockable in position on thehigh level beam, each of the lowermost portions of the support membershaving its ends connected to the low level beams by means of connectorpieces, each connector piece being movable along and lockable inposition on the adjacent low level beam.